MUMBAI: Poignant, haunting and groovy, the 4 track offering titled ‘Dollhouse’, by the Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Aditi Iyer, is not your average ‘bad romance’ EP. The music will surely make the listeners groove but the lyrical intensity - that digs in deep into the vastly rampant pattern of abusive relationships — will certainly leave them thinking. This is the second EP by the opera trained, school-going prodigy, who released her first track at the age of 10. The EP goes through a gamut of imagined experiences shaped into songs on a bed of synth & bass dark-pop such as Tearing Me Open, Your Photograph, Withdrawals & Hollow.
Aditi Iyer may have just turned 17 but she already has a slew of releases (including a 4-track-EP and several videos of popular renditions) on streaming platforms. A prolific young singer, Aditi has worked on enhancing the range and dexterity of her voice from a very young age.
By the age of ten, she already had one original (Who You Are) under her belt and a standing ovation from the judges of Next Star Romania (equivalent of an Indian Idol) after delivering a spellbinding performance. Who You Are was a testament to the artist’s personal experience of being bullied, which was accompanied by a resounding message ‘to be yourself & stand your ground’, even in the face of adversity.
Now as a young teen, with a number of originals already out on streaming platforms along with her debut EP titled ‘The Girl They See’ (2020), she’s excited to share her second EP - ‘Dollhouse’ (out on August 19th, 2021) with the world. Aditi aims to bring the prowess of opera singing into alt/pop-songs with a clear focus to create awareness towards a very disturbing trend, in a cathartic offering which is accompanied by a compelling artwork of a Dollhouse which is anything but…
The EP that is woven around the disconcerting pattern of abusive relationships with an ironic yet very apt title - Dollhouse, is a poignant take on the very nature of this rampant trend. The topic of abusive relationships is one that Aditi finds very close to her heart. “It's so horrible, but also so common. I see a lot of it around… I think so many people don't understand they're being hurt or that it isn't normal to feel like that in a relationship so I guess I made this EP for people like them. While making the EP, I guess a huge goal of mine was to make it realistic. I wanted to put forth my message in a way that's not preachy… but more relatable than a sermon and leaving a place for more emotion and understanding,” explains Aditi.
Music, Vocals, Composition & Lyrics by Aditi Iyer, with assistance from the Los Angeles CA-based Producer Ryan Benyo.